by Wayne Epps, Jr. , USA TODAY Sports

by Wayne Epps, Jr. , USA TODAY Sports

BALTIMORE -- In the wake of the Masahiro Tanka injury news, the New York Yankees are preparing to move forward with their rotation in shambles as they try to stay close in the American League East race with a three-game weekend series in Baltimore.

Several questions linger on Tanaka's long-term fate as the rookie continues his transit back to New York. The Yankees traded for Oakland Athletics left-hander Jeff Francis Friday to bolster pitching depth. But more moves appear likely as New York tries to mend its pitching situation.

In the meantime, Yankees manager Joe Girardi is looking to the guys that are left to show what they have.

"You like to think that it's an opportunity for someone to really step up and show that they got," Girardi said. "For a lot of us, that's how we get our start in the big leagues. Somebody gets hurt, and you get an opportunity to play and you prove that you can play and then you stick.

"It's not like every starter is going to go 12-4 with a (2.51) ERA, but sometimes you have to get up a little bit from other spots and try to hold teams down and score runs. So I don't think anyone plans for having four starters on the DL. But you got to figure it out."

Girardi said he doesn't know if a plan is drawn up yet mapping out Tanaka's potential recovery period, and hasn't spoken with the pitcher since the diagnosis of a partially torn ulnar collateral ligament.

General manager Brian Cashman said Thursday that Tommy John elbow surgery isn't been ruled out, but the Yankees are going with a rehab attempt first based on the evaluations of three doctors. Tanaka is due to have a platelet-rich plasma injection, and Cashman said if that treatment goes as planned, the pitcher will miss at least six weeks.

Tanaka pitched 212 innings in Japan last season, and Girardi said he didn't know if his usage then has any impact on his injury now. So far this season, Tanaka is tied for fifth in the majors with 129.1 innings pitched.

"If it was one pitch, it didn't seem like it because he didn't act like that," Girardi said. "It's just, it's hard to say. No one really knows unless you had a video in his arm the whole time, you're really not going to know exactly what it was."

Friday afternoon, Tanaka issue a statement through the Yankees in which he apologized for the injury.

"I accept this injury as a challenge, but I promise to do everything I can to overcome this setback and return to the mound as soon as possible," Tanaka said.

Francis is not yet with the Yankees, and Girardi said he's not yet sure when he will be. Girardi said Francis is probably in the 30-40 pitch range right now, and that the Yankees will establish a plan for him once he arrives. So far this season, working mostly out of the bullpen, Francis has a 5.89 ERA in 18.1 innings pitched with 14 strikeouts. Francis started one game this season, with the Cincinnati Reds on May 15, going five innings and giving up three earned runs in a loss.

Prior to this season, Francis was a starter for nine seasons, primarily with the Colorado Rockies.

"I really haven't seen him pitch a lot," Girardi said. "So I'll get to know him as soon as he gets here."

Monday, before the Tanaka news, the Yankees traded Vidal Nuno to the Diamondbacks for starter Brandon McCarthy. In his first start with the Yankees on Wednesday, McCarthy pitched 6.2 innings, giving up four runs, one earned and striking out three, while getting a no-decision in a 5-4 Yankees win.

McCarthy said, while the Tanaka injury news is tough from a team perceptive and puts an onus on everybody else to pitch well, it doesn't change his new role.

"The thing with a starting pitcher is, you can't do too much," McCarthy told USA TODAY Sports. "You just can only do exactly what you can do on any given day."

As Cashman continues his dealing to try to patch up the Yankees rotation, McCarthy said he's not sure how things may shake up from here. But less than a week into his new post, he's confident in the team's ability to add depth.

"You see things from the outside and you know how the Yankees work," McCarthy said. "They accumulate great players, they're always in their buyer mode and they're always trying to win."